In computer vision and other imaging and computing contexts, depth images may be generated based on two (e.g., left and right or reference and target) two-dimensional images of a scene. In particular, in assisted stereoscopic or active stereoscopic techniques, an infrared (IR) textured pattern is projected onto a scene such that the images obtained during exposure include the IR textured pattern as modified by the scene. Such techniques may be advantageous when the scene itself does not include a lot of texture (e.g., for blank white walls or similar scene elements). The obtained images including the IR texture are then used to generate a depth image using stereoscopic image matching techniques or the like. Such depth image(s) may be used in a wide variety of contexts.
Furthermore, it may be desirable to obtain a color image of the scene that does not include the IR textured pattern for display to a user, for use in computer vision, or for other purposes. Current techniques for obtaining a color image of the scene excluding the IR textured pattern in addition to the image including the IR textured pattern are costly, power intensive, reduce available frame rates, and/or tend to undesirably increase the size of the imaging devices. For example, separate imagers may be used to obtain a color image without the IR texture in addition to the image with the IR texture, which may add cost, power usage, and device size. In another example, time multiplexing techniques may be used such that an IR projector is turned on/off and separate images with IR texture (IR projector on) and without IR texture (IR projector off) images are obtained. However, such techniques limit frame rate and such implementations are susceptible to problems caused by motion in the scene. Finally, image sensors are available that include a modified Bayer pattern of R, G, B, IR sub-pixels that may be used to extract RGB image data from IR image data. Alternatively, image sensors currently under development include an organic layer on the image sensor that may be activated electronically to selectively add IR or RGB sensitivity. However, such image sensors are undesirably large and expensive.
Therefore, current techniques do not provide for high quality images including and excluding the IR textured pattern that are cost effective, limit power usage and device size, and offer ease of implementation. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed. Such improvements may become critical as the desire to utilize depth images in a variety of applications becomes more widespread.